


There was probably a simpler solution

by queenspacegay



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: "Platonic" Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Post-Squip, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Theatre, Underage Drinking, boyf riends — Freeform, rehearsal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-01-28 23:55:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12618440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenspacegay/pseuds/queenspacegay
Summary: Jeremy and Michael kiss at a party to get rid of a creepy dude hitting on Jer, this of course spirals in the way all good fake dating fics do and now the whole school think they're dating.





	1. The Halloween Party

**Author's Note:**

> whats up kids this is my first bmc fic and my first fic in literally forever?? but i can't get these stupid gays out of my head and there's not enough fake dating fics in this fandom so I guess I'll have to write it myself

“What are you wearing to Jake’s Halloween party?” Michael asked, lolling his neck back on the beanbag chair to look over at Jeremy and offering the joint over.

“Apocalypse of the damned zombie,” He said, accepting the joint and taking a hit.

“Specific,” Michael nodded his approval.

“What about you?”

“Dude you literally watched me order a Mario costume two days ago,”

“Hey I don’t know what you get up to in your free time, this is a kink shaming free zone,” Michael threw his arm out in a pathetic attempt to punch a giggling Jeremy in the arm. “Classic though, I like it.” He hummed. “Are you sure you want to go? You don’t have to, I mean, it was kinda the suckiest night ever last time so I’d totally understand if you don’t wanna go we could always just get stoned in your basement and play horror games until 4am if you want,” He babbled.

“Nah man, it’ll be good. I mean weird, most of these people didn’t know we existed a year ago or were complete jerks but it’s different now. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fuuuuun,” He crooned, “And besides, it’s only like a 15-minute walk from here so we can always just ditch and come back if it does suck,”

“Yeah. Yeah that’s true. Oh by the way can I crash at yours after? It’s way closer,” He looked up at Michael with his best puppy dog eyes as if he had to actually convince Michael and it wasn’t bound to happen anyway.

“Nah you can sleep in my garden, I don’t want you in my house.” Michael said instead, Jeremy sniggered and passed him back the joint.

“You’re a jerk.”

“You know it.”

 

* * *

 

The party, in fairness, was better than either of them had been particularly expecting and within an hour, Jeremy was tiptoeing the wonderful line between just tipsy and solidly drunk. Michael wasn’t quite as drunk but definitely wasn’t sober either. Somehow, they’d ended up on the makeshift dancefloor in the living room, flailing their limbs and looking ridiculous but for once not caring, simply laughing at each other in the dimly lit room over the loud music and enjoying each other’s company. Everyone was wearing silly costumes and was drunk out of their skulls so no one was watching Jeremy and Michael make fools of themselves anyway.

That was, until a guy dressed in a crude Joker costume with white face paint smeared lazily across his gaunt face started crowding Jeremy’s space, leering at him uncomfortably. Jeremy tried to ignore it at first until he attempted to put his arm around his waist to pull him closer. Jeremy had no idea what to do, he didn’t want to cause a scene and the music was way too loud for him to be able to say anything, not that he’d be able to do more than stutter awkwardly.

He threw a despairing look to Michael who instantly sprang into action. He snaked forwards, looping his arms around Jeremys waist and tugging him to face him. Jeremy gratefully slid his arms around his shoulders and leaned closer, sending a clear signal to the guy to fuck off, he was taken.

Jeremy leaned forwards to whisper in Michael’s ear, “Thank you.” Michael just grinned and kept dancing.

“What are friends for other than to save you from creepy tall dudes huh?”

Jeremy sniggered and gyrated his hips in some approximation at suggestive dancing and Michael dropped his head forwards onto his shoulder, shaking with mirth but not pulling away. They kept up the act for several songs until Jeremy excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Creepy Joker dude, however, apparently still hadn’t gotten the message. He ambushed Jeremy on the way out of the bathroom, crowding him against the wall.

“You look like you need a drink,” He leered.

“No, I’m actually uh, here with someone, but thank you?” Jeremy stumbled, somehow managing to turn the statement into a question.

“The nerdy Mario dude? C’mon, pretty guy like yourself can do a lot better than him,” Jeremy bristled at the insult to Michael.

“He’s my boyfriend, actually,” He blurted before he could stop himself, then paused, realizing he didn’t really have any plan for the lie.

“He wouldn’t have to know,”

“No, really, I’d better- Michael!” Michael had just rounded the corner, clearly looking to see where Jeremy had gone.

“There you are,” He said, eyeing Joker dude menacingly, or, as menacingly as someone dressed in an ill fitting Mario costume can, “C’mon I wanna dance.” He grabbed Jeremy’s hand and pulled him away as fast as he could.

“Save me,” Jeremy whispered when he rejoined Michael on the dance floor.

“I’m gonna kiss you, okay?” Michael murmured in his ear, looking past Jeremy to where he assumed the Joker dude was lurking. Jeremy’s brain short circuited. Surely there was an easier way to get rid of this dude, one that didn’t involve making out with his best friend. But his head was buzzing with alcohol and his chest was warm and his heart was skipping as his best fucking friend leaned in and pressed his lips softly to his. Michael raised his hand to cup Jeremy’s cheek and tightened the other on his waist, pulling him in closer by a fraction.

Jeremy hummed softly into the kiss as Michael deepened it, he prayed the loud music swallowed the sound and that Michael hadn’t heard or somehow felt the vibrations against his lips, was that even possible, he thought idly before Michael ran his tongue against his bottom lip and his brain promptly gave up working.

All too soon, Michael was pulling away, a small goofy grin playing on his lips, still coated in a soft layer of Jeremy’s saliva. Jeremy may actually never recover, he thought, this was it, mark the date and time.

“I think he’s gone,” Michael laughed softly, glancing over Jeremy’s shoulder, “hopefully he got the message.”

“Wh- uh- yeah, um, good, thanks, thank you,” Jeremy stuttered, attempting to kick his brain back into gear.

Neither of them made to move away from the embrace however, Jeremy told himself it was in case the Joker dude hadn’t got the message yet and came back and that it had nothing at all to do with how much he was enjoying the solid warmth of Michael pressed against his front as they danced.

 

* * *

 

“So are you two like, together?” Jenna shout-slurred at Jeremy over the punch bowl when he finally disentangled himself long enough to get them both another drink.

Jeremy weighed his options, he didn’t really know who was friends with the creepy Joker dude, it was much better to be safe than sorry, they could always patch up the mess later which would be much easier than trying to find another way to evade him. Or that’s what Jeremy’s drunken brain told him anyway.

“Uh yeah, did you not know?” He said before he could overthink and bottle it.

“No! Or, well, we all suspected you know but we didn’t know!”

“Oh! Uh,” Jeremy said weakly. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get quite used to the amount of people who assumed he was dating his best friend, though he supposed it would make their case more believable for now. “I should probably, uh, get back to Michael anyway. Don’t want to…leave him waiting,” He gestured with the red solo cups he was holding. Jenna just winked knowingly and pulled out her phone in a very non-suspicious way.

“Mhm you kids have fun.” She said and turned away, leaving Jeremy spluttering behind her.

“What did she want?” Michael asked when Jeremy handed him the drink.

“I think I just told the whole school we’re dating?” He winced, waiting for Michael’s response but Michael just threw his head back and guffawed.

“Only you could manage to do that in the space of 30 seconds left unattended, Jer. Ah whatever, it’ll probably get that dude off your back for now at least. I think his name’s Liam by the way, I heard Rich talking to him while you were gone.”

“Oh good, I can stop referring to him as creepy Joker dude who apparently wants into my pants now,” Michael sniggered again.

“Relax dude it’ll be fine, no one will remember come Monday.”

 

* * *

  

They left the party shortly after that, when Jeremy began swaying where he stood and his eyes drooping shut Michael declared he’d had enough to drink and it was time to go home. Jeremy didn’t protest, the party hadn’t been as bad as they were expecting but the loud music and press of bodies was starting to grate on him a little.

When they got outside Jeremy shivered, regretting his choice of costume that left him with his arms exposed and a gash in the side of his shirt.

“Zombie not weather appropriate? C’mere,” Michael said, wrapping his arm around Jeremy’s shoulders. He didn’t have a hoodie to offer but the contact was enough to keep him from shivering too hard and frankly Jeremy could do with the balance support.

The walk to Michael’s house wasn’t a long one but by the time they arrived Jeremy was absolutely frozen.

“Who came up with the idea of dressing up for Halloween?” He slurred, clumsily fishing his spare pyjamas out of Michael’s bottom drawer, “’s a stupid idea.”

Michael snickered at him, “You’re the one that decided to cut a chunk out of your shirt dude, you could’ve done Luigi with me and worn long sleeves but nooooo,” He laughed as Jeremy threw the offending fake blood stained shirt at his head. “Get over here you scrawny asshole,” He said, flopping down on the twin bed and moving over to make room for Jeremy.

They’d always shared a bed ever since they were little, seeing no reason to relegate one of them to an uncomfortable air mattress when they both still fit perfectly fine, much to Michael’s mother’s amusement. Besides, they slept round each other’s houses so often the air mattresses would end up a permanent fixture in their rooms and that would just be inconvenient.

Jeremy was wholly thankful for this as he snuggled up to Michael under the covers, effectively leeching all his warmth as he wound his arms tightly round his torso and shoved a leg in between his.

“Was an alright party though,” Jeremy mumbled from Michael’s chest, “di’nt mind kissing you, ‘ven if it was because of a creepy dude.”

“God you’re so drunk,” Michael laughed, “go to sleep, Jer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm always a sucker for kissing to make the relationship Totally Realistic and Completely Platonic bed sharing.  
> this was originally gonna be a oneshot but then the plot kinda got away from me and it's now apparently gonna be a multi chapter epic?????? I'm not sure how frequently it'll update because uni's getting busy af already but hopefully it'll be fairly frequently!! I've not posted a fic in literally forever so please give me a comment to motivate me and also constructive criticism is always welcome aah!!
> 
> fun fact: this is loosely based on real life events where me and my friend accidentally ended up making everyone at uni think we were dating for like a month to get rid of a creepy dude hitting on us


	2. Play rehearsal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a film student from England not a theatre student from America so sorry for any inaccuracies!

You know when you meet someone for the first time and suddenly you start seeing them everywhere? That was Jeremy with the creepy ass Joker dude, whose name had been confirmed by Rich to be Liam. Jeremy didn’t remember having seen him at school before now particularly but suddenly it seemed every time he rounded a corner Liam was there. So far, he’d managed to avoid him using some mad sneaking skills, (he’d bodily thrown Christine in front of himself then had to duck down behind her and question his life choices at lunch, and almost face planted the floor skidding into a bathroom to avoid seeing him in a corridor after fourth period).

 

It was at play rehearsal, however, where Jeremy finally had to deal with Liam. It was the first week of tech rehearsals so Michael was helping out, (not that he’d ever shown any interest in doing tech for plays before but he insisted that it was actually pretty fun and besides, what else was he gonna do at lunch now? He needed the extra credit anyway.) Jeremy had almost crapped his pants when he arrived and Liam was lounging about on a table not really doing a lot to help out.

 

“Shit, what am I gonna do?” Jeremy whispered through gritted teeth.

  
“Dude calm down, I doubt he’ll try anything here. Anyway, as far as he knows we’re dating, right? We can just keep that up to get him off your back if he bothers you. Lift your arm.” Michael prompted, snaking the mic wires through Jeremy’s jumper.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah man, he wasn’t taking no for an answer before but if he tries it again what can he do if you’re taken? Turn.” Jeremy span round obediently so Michael could clip the mic pack to his jeans. “Right, you’re good to go. Don’t worry about Liam okay? Just focus on the show or I think Christine will actually rip your dick off.” Jeremy sniggered, relaxing a bit and throwing a quick thanks over his shoulder before wandering over to Christine to join her stretching.

 

* * *

 

 

The show went mostly without hiccup, they still needed to iron out some creases and Jeremy had managed to trip over his own feet and crash into Christine during one of the dance numbers but they were definitely getting there. He had almost managed to put Liam out of his mind until they had a 10 minute break while Christine presumably throttled a freshman who’d managed to screw up almost every single spotlight que.

 

Jeremy was bent over digging through his backpack for his water bottle when he heard a voice behind him and jumped so hard he almost dropped the whole bag.

 

“Funny seeing you here, should’ve known you’d be the theatre type.” Liam’s slimy voice came from behind him.

 

“Ohh, yeah, I uh, got into it last year,” Jeremy said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and trying not to make too much eye contact.

 

“Are you going to Matt’s party tonight?” He asked. Jeremy didn’t even know _who_ Matt was and frankly he didn’t want to.

 

“No, uh, too much homework, you know,”

 

“Aw c’mon, don’t be such a lameass, you wouldn’t want me to be lonely at the party would you?”

 

Jeremy was about to choke out some sort of weak excuse when he felt a hand snake round his waist and a kiss pressed quickly into his cheek.

 

“Hey babe, you did great out there!” Michael said, not releasing Jeremy’s waist and not even sparing a glance for Liam.

 

“You think?” He said, angling his body towards Michael and trying his hardest to block Liam out of the conversation. “I completely fucked the choreography in the second number, I don’t even know what happened,”

 

“You played it off alright though, like obviously it _was_ noticeable but shit happens and what’s more important is the recovery and you only looked like you were gonna shit yourself for like, less than a second, so you’re alright.”

 

Liam had already excused himself, rolling his eyes and glaring at Michael, but they stayed wrapped in a loose embrace anyway. It was nice, the contact calming Jeremys frazzled nerves. The thumb idly tracing patterns into his lower back was oddly grounding and Jeremy closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and dropping his head forward onto Michael’s shoulder for a second. Michael laughed, puffing out a hot breath onto his neck.

 

“C’mon Jer, only an hour left to go, you’re doing fine I promise.” Jeremy lifted his head wearily.

 

“Are you sure the fumble wasn’t too bad?”

 

“Positive, you’ll do fine. C’mere your mic’s slipping.” He said, drawing closer to Jeremy to adjust the face mic. Their faces were so close Jeremy could see the faintest little freckles dotted around Michael’s face, usually invisible to the naked eye. Michael’s eyes flicked past Jeremy’s face and his mouth twisted into a mischievous smile. “He’s glaring at me again, that dude really hates me. Play along alright?”

 

And before Jeremy knew what was happening, Michael was leaning forwards for the second time to press their lips together. This wasn’t like their first kiss, messy and fueled by alcohol, this was fleeting and gentle, their mouths slotted together perfectly for just long enough for Jeremy’s heart to beat its way out of his chest and flop to the floor at Michael’s feet before he was pulling away, eyelashes batting open slowly.

 

“Break a leg,” Michael said, pulling away, “And don’t worry about him,” He nodded to somewhere beyond Jeremy’s shoulder, “I think he’s getting the message, albeit fucking slowly.” With that, Michael threw a dazzling grin Jeremy’s way and turned to head back to the sound booth.

 

Jeremy however was still rooted to the spot. He hadn’t even realized he was frozen. Had he not been interrupted he may have stood there until cobwebs grew on his clothes and dust settled in a blanket over him, but he was jerked back to reality by Mr Reyes calling for everyone to take their places, then cursing when he dropped his hot pocket.

 

* * *

 

 

Jeremy chatted easily with Christine as they packed up at the end of rehearsal. He was thankful that even though there hadn’t been any sort of spark on their one and only date, they’d ended up close friends anyway. Her passion for drama had only encouraged Jeremy to flower on the stage and he’d finally found somewhere he felt like he was starting to belong.

 

She too, tried to reassure him that the choreography fumble wasn’t as bad as he thought it was and that he’d have it down before opening night anyway. He was lulled into a false sense of security in the conversation so he didn’t even see her question coming;

 

“So, you and Michael huh? I mean you guys weren’t exactly subtle before but I didn’t know you’d made it like, openly official. Congrats! When did that happen?”

 

Despite having quickly discussed keeping up the pretense of their relationship for Liam’s sake earlier, they hadn’t really discussed what they were telling everyone else. “It only just happened, the other day at Jake’s Halloween party? We weren’t dating before that but it just sort of, happened, I guess?” He said, wincing at his own unconvincing story, convinced Christine was going to see straight through him but instead she beamed at him.

 

“Well I’m glad, you two are so perfect for each other, you should see the way he looks at you, you’re good for him.” She said, touching his arm briefly before gathering up her things. “I’ve gotta run but I’ll see you tomorrow!”

 

“Yeah, see you,” He said weakly.

 

He wandered over to Michael who was finishing packing the face mics away methodically into their box. Liam was lugging stage props into the wings nearby.

 

“You ready to go?” He said, touching the small of Michael’s back softly and glancing over to Liam to check if he was watching.

 

“Yeah just gimme two secs,” He replied, grabbing the box and carrying them over to the sound booth, “Mic’s are all counted and back in the booth, see you guys tomorrow,” He called to the tech team in general, and was met with a bunch of halfhearted goodbyes.

 

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed Jeremy’s right hand in his left, raising an eyebrow at Jeremy’s slightly startled expression. “C’mon _boyf_ ,” He teased quietly, then raised his voice and threw over his shoulder, “See you tomorrow, Liam,” a slightly evil looking smile on his face, before dragging Jeremy out the exit.

 

“You’re enjoying pissing Liam off slightly too much, aren’t you?” Jeremy said when they were well out of earshot.

 

“He deserves it; besides, I’m getting some quality death glares from him. I’m trying to see if I can get him to actually snap and murder me before midterms.”

 

“Michael!” Jeremy laughed, knocking their shoulders together. Neither of them had dropped their hands away but it was probably because Liam might follow them out into the carpark when he was finished with the props. It definitely had nothing to do with the way Michael’s thumb was tracing Jeremy’s softly as they walked, making Jeremy’s lungs flutter and coaxing all the tension out of his body as their hands swung slightly between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days, don't get used to it! I can't believe I'm a day late handing in a thousand word essay but I just wrote over 3k words in two days for this bloody fic. I live for comments!


	3. The Mall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for (probably poorly written) panic attacks, if you want to skip that past it's the last section starting with them going to the mall, just read the very last paragraph and you'll know what's going on next chapter  
> This chapter's a bit all over the place sorrY

Jeremy and Michael had always been incredibly tactile friends. You can’t really be friends for 12 years without being completely comfortable in each other’s company. They’d shared beds since they were little and never grown out of the habit, they would curl up on the sofa together to watch films, hugs were frequent and touches were easy. After the whole Squip fiasco this only increased. The Squip hadn’t been able to touch Jeremy, obviously, as it didn’t have a physical form, which meant that physical contact helped to ground him when he was having a bad day. Sometimes all it took was Michael’s hand in his to soothe his head, so it became a routine with them.

Michael had always been an open book, you could tell exactly how he was feeling just by looking at him. He would bounce around the room when happy or excited, put his hood up if he was slightly uncomfortable, and his movements got jerky and erratic if he was nervous. Jeremy had always been more subdued, not as comfortable in his own skin but after 12 years Michael knew how to read him perfectly. If Jeremy’s head was ducked as he walked and his brow furrowed ever so slightly, Michael’s hand would slip into his softly and Jeremy would give it a grateful squeeze. He didn’t often ask for help but Michael knew when he needed it and was always there to offer it.

Really, it shouldn’t have been a surprise that they made a convincing couple. People had been mistaking them as together for years now anyway. The only thing they had to change was to be more open with their little friendship quirks, increase the number of casual touches, decrease the space between them (that was already at a minimum, but who was counting), and stop reserving hand holding and hugs for bad days.

Jenna had spread their new relationship status to the whole school after the Halloween party, so, unless they wanted to have to clear up a schoolwide fiasco, they were going to have to keep up the act at all times, rather than exclusively when Liam was around. They could “break up” in a few weeks and everything would go back to normal anyway. It wasn’t exactly an airtight plan but it wasn’t a disaster.

 

* * *

 

“So I’ve been thinking,” Brooke said, as they walked to the carpark at the end of the day. “Your story doesn’t add up.”

“Huh?”

“Well, you told Christine you and Michael only got together at Jake’s Halloween party, but according to Jenna you told her there you’d been together for a while. So, which is it?”

Jeremy’s stomach dropped, he started to babble some half-formed excuse but stopped when he heard Brooke giggle.

“Jeremy calm down, it’s fine. You’re faking it right? Is it to get that scumbag Liam off your back by any chance?”

“Oh, uh, you noticed that then?”

“He’s a creep, and I’ve noticed every time he gets anywhere near you Michael glues himself to your side. I mean if it works, it works right? But there was probably an easier solution you know?” Brooke eyed him carefully.

“I dunno I sort of, panicked? It was the first thing that popped into my head when he wouldn’t take no for an answer and Michael sort of rolled with it? Well I mean he started it technically, he was the one who kissed me at the party to get rid of him but then when he wouldn’t get the message I freaked and said we’re dating. He’s mostly got the message now though so that’s good, I guess.” He shrugged.

Brooke was still watching him closely, she thought carefully about what to say before opening her mouth. “Just be careful okay? I don’t want you getting hurt. Or Michael.”

“What? Why would Michael get hurt? Or me? We’re not actually dating, Brooke, it’ll be fine.”

“I’ve seen the way you look at him, no ones that convincing an actor 24/7, Jer. You look at him like he lit the stars for you even when no one’s watching, I just, don’t want this ending badly for you.”

“We’re just close friends,”

“Sure. You can talk to me though, you know that?” He nodded and she smiled, they'd reached her car now. Jeremy could see Michael waiting at his car for Jeremy. They both had play rehearsal after school but Jeremy had left a box of props in Michael's car that he had to fetch before they headed over. "I'll see you tomorrow," She said and started getting in her car before pausing, “He looks at you the same way, you know?” With that, she gunned the engine and drove away, leaving Jeremy’s mind reeling.

"You alright dude? You look a little pale," Michael said when Jeremy reached his car, thrusting one of the boxes at him and grabbing the second himself.

"Yeah it's nothing don't worry 'bout it."

"If you're sure," Michael said, side eyeing him before launching into a rant about something he'd seen on Discovery channel last night. 

 

* * *

 

After rehearsal Jeremy, Michael, and Christine went to the mall for food. Michael had been craving subway and the other two were more than happy to join him. The three of them had gotten pretty close since the whole Squip incident. Jeremy and Christine were the leads in this semester’s play and now that Michael was on tech too, they got to spend quite a lot of time together.

They were listening to Christine gush about how the choreography for the biggest number was finally coming together when Jeremy casually leaned over to grab Michael’s drink. They shared food all the time, neither of them bothered to ask anymore.

As soon as Jeremy swallowed his blood turned to ice and he froze, eyes wide and terrified. Christine didn’t notice anything was wrong but Michael felt Jeremy tense up beside him and glanced over. His gaze flicked between Jeremy’s face and the takeaway cup on the table in front of him.

“Shit, Christine!” Christine looked up, confused. Michael wiggled his car keys out of his pocket and thrust them at her, “Trunk of my car there’s Mountain Dew Red, grab a bottle and run back here. Be quick, please.”

Realization slowly dawned on Christine’s face and she took the keys and sprinted out of the mall.

Jeremy’s ears were ringing, his vision going blurry, the taste of Mountain Dew Green burning in his throat. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining the faint sound of the voice echoing in his head or if it was really there.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry Jer I didn’t think,” Michael took Jeremy’s hands gently in his own, “You’re gonna be fine okay? Christine will be back with the Mountain Dew Red in just a minute okay? It’s not gonna come back you’re fine,”

Michael carefully put his hands on Jeremy’s face, pulling him to look at him rather than staring at the cup. Jeremy’s breath came in short sharp gasps, horrible shakes wracked his fragile frame, phantom pain stabbed through his mind, like the Squip was turning back on piece by piece.

“Look at me, it’s not coming back, Jake drank some Green the other week and he was fine. It doesn’t reactivate it. Chris will be back in a second, can you hold on till then?” Jeremy’s eyes were terrified and wide, staring into Michael’s like he was drowning.

Michael kept murmuring reassurances, his thumbs tracing softly against Jeremy’s cheekbones, until Jeremy stopped shaking so hard and his breathing began to level out very slightly. He lifted his hands sluggishly to hold Michael’s wrists, anchoring him to reality.

Christine skidded to a halt by their table, passing the opened bottle of Mountain Dew Red to Michael, who took it and held it gingerly to Jeremy’s lips.

“C’mon, you’re alright.” He said softly. Jeremy stabilized the bottle with his left hand, not letting go of Michael’s wrist with the other. Michael let out a soft sigh of relief when Jeremy drank deeply from the bottle.

When he put the bottle aside Jeremy collapsed into Michael’s shoulder and started crying. Sobs wracked his form as Michael’s arms came up to hug him closer, rubbing small reassuring circles onto his back.

“I’m s-sorry,”

“No, shh, it’s not your fault, I didn’t think I’m sorry.” Michael rocked him slightly, nose buried in his hair. “It’s alright, Miah, you’re safe. You’re okay.”

They stayed like that for a long while until Jeremy pulled back slowly, wiping his cardigan sleeve over his face. He looked like shit, his face was red and blotchy and tear streaked, his eyes puffy and red. Michael had never wanted to kiss him more.

“I’m sorry,”

“Shut up,” Michael said softly, swiping his thumb over Jeremy’s cheek to dry it. “C’mon let’s go home, yours or mine?”

“Yours please,”

“Sure thing,” Michael remembered Christine was still sat at their table and glanced up, “Shit sorry, thank you so much, I’ll drop you home,”

Christine looked up from where she’d been rereading her script for probably the billionth time to give the two of them some illusion at privacy, and smiled softly. “It’s fine, I can walk from here, you take care of your boy.” She got up, touching Michael’s arm lightly, and grabbed her stuff, leaving Jeremy and Michael alone.

“You think you’re good to walk?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Stop apologizing, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine, I should’a thought,”

“Shut up, don’t blame yourself,”

“Only if you stop blaming yourself,” Michael grinned at the watery smile on Jeremy’s face. “C’mon let’s go.”

Jeremy assured Michael that he was fine to walk by himself but Michael still wound his arm around Jeremy’s waist, holding him close as they walked. Jeremy melted into the embrace, boneless and exhausted.

Jeremy was still shaking by the time they got to the car so Michael pulled off his hoodie.

“No, I’m fine-,”

“I know you are,” Michael said, bundling Jeremy into it anyway. Despite his protests, Jeremy snuggled into the over large hoodie, reveling in the warmth and smell of Michael enveloping him.

When they got to Michael’s house they went straight up to his room. He stuck some shitty reruns on the small TV in the corner and pulled Jeremy under the bed covers with him. Jeremy settled so his head was resting on Michael’s chest, an arm slung over his stomach. Michael’s arms wrapped around Jeremy, holding him close, and buried his nose in his hair. It was utter bliss and exactly what Jeremy needed. He fell asleep within minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter went from 0 to 100 so fuckin fast lmao, sorry if it's inaccurate in any way, I'm doing my best! Thank you so much everyone for your lovely comments, this is the first fanfic I've written in ages and it's giving me such a confidence boost y'all are the best <3


	4. Waking up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> listen,,,, "platonic" cuddlign. thank u for your time

Jeremy was disoriented for a second after waking up before remembering the night before. He was sprawled half on top of Michael, face buried in his neck and their legs intertwined. Michael’s arms curled around him loosely, one hand resting on Jeremy’s hip, the other over his ribs. His face was pressed into Jeremy’s soft curls and Jeremy could feel his slow even breath spilling warmly onto his face.

He tilted his chin up carefully to watch Michael as he slept. The soft morning sunlight spilled in through a gap in the curtains, filling the room and dancing across Michael’s skin delicately. He had the faintest smile curling at the corners of his mouth, as though Jeremy’s happiness was bleeding into him in their proximity.

The embrace warmed Jeremy to his bones, he felt more relaxed and at ease than he had in months, since before the Squip incident possibly. A warm feeling curled through his chest making it ache, though not unpleasantly, almost as if it couldn’t hold Jeremy’s happiness and was threatening to burst right there in Michael’s arms.

He would have been content to lie there watching Michael sleep all morning, or to curl back up and fall asleep in this utter bliss, but Michael made a soft noise, scrunching his nose adorably for a second before opening his eyes.

“Morning,” He hummed, voice thick with sleep, a soft smile tugging at his lips, “You been lying there watching me sleep long?”

“Nah I only just woke up,”

“Mm we’re so in synch,” Michael stifled a yawn. “Do we really have to get up today?”

“It’s Saturday but we’ve gotta be at rehearsal by one. Will you help me run lines later?”

“You know your lines perfectly and you know it, but sure.” He ran his thumb idly over Jeremy’s hip, “What time is it anyway?”

Jeremy craned his neck to look at the clock on the bedside table.

“Quarter past ten,”

“Yeah, we definitely have time for a lie in,” Michael said, squeezing his arms round Jeremy briefly and burying is face back in his hair. Jeremy huffed out a laugh but wasn’t going to complain, tucking his head neatly under Michael’s chin and revelling in the feel of Michael wrapped around him.

 

* * *

 

Eventually it was Jeremy’s bladder that forced him out of bed. He padded back upstairs with two steaming mugs in his hands. Michael’s mug read “Player 1” and was filled with black coffee, while Jeremy used a chipped Tetris mug for his hot chocolate. Michael made fun of him for not drinking coffee, but made sure to always keep a supply of chocolate powder for him. Mini marshmallows, too, when he was feeling particularly nice.

“What did I do to deserve you?” Michael said groggily, accepting the drink from Jeremy and inhaling appreciatively.

“Well last night for a start,” Jeremy said, climbing over Michael to get back to the right side of the bed (his designated side on both of their beds,) and snuggling under the arm Michael raised automatically for him. “Thanks for looking after me at the mall, sorry I had a meltdown,”

“Hey, it’s not your fault so don’t you go blaming yourself. But it’s fine, what are friends for, hmm?” He bumped his head into Jeremy’s softly, almost like a cat seeking affection. Jeremy grinned into his hot chocolate and took a big sip, regretting it instantly and yelping as he burnt his tongue. Michael laughed heartily at him and Jeremy shoved him playfully.

“I can’t believe you’re laughing at my pain after I brought you coffee in bed like the good boyfriend I am.” The words caught in his throat slightly and hung in the air awkwardly, there was a slight shift in the atmosphere between the two boys before Michael coughed slightly.

“The best fake boyfriend I could ask for.”

Jeremy let out a small snort and sipped his drink again, ignoring the burn of the hot liquid this time.

They spent the early afternoon running lines and making lunch together before Michael drove them to the school for rehearsal. As they approached the theatre Michael grabbed Jeremy’s hand, making him startle for a second before remembering the mess they were walking back into. As if he could forget.

 

* * *

 

Michael was stood near the dressing rooms sorting through a box of brightly coloured tape when Jeremy came skidding into view.

“Woah dude, what’s the hurry?”

“Brooke said she heard Chloe talking to Jenna about how us dating seems suspicious or something!”

“What? They couldn’t-,”

“I don’t think they’ve worked it out but if they do we’re beyond dead,”

“Dude, chill, we’ll just-,”

“She’s coming! Uh-,” Jeremy grabbed Michael’s face and mashed their mouths together. Michael pulled away slightly, laughing.

“God, Jer, stop freaking out,”

Michael’s face was still inches from Jeremy’s, his eyes full of humour, lips spread into the most beautiful smile Jeremy had ever seen. Jeremy’s breath caught in his throat. It was a damn good thing the goal here was to kiss convincingly because if he hadn’t been able to close the distance between their mouths his heart may have burst in his chest.

He wasn’t thinking about Chloe at all when he leaned in once more and pressed his lips to Michael’s. Barely even heard her walk past talking to Brooke as Michael lifted his hand to cup his jaw and ran his tongue softly over his lower lip. Jeremy could have melted into a puddle on the floor right then and there. But then she was gone and Michael was pulling away, a strange expression on his face. He smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes as he took a step back.

“See, she won’t suspect a thing,” He let out a short, strangled sounding laugh, “Anyway I need to uh, go mark up the stage, so-,”

“Yeah, that’s…fine. Catch you later,” Jeremy said, a weird feeling sitting in his stomach.

 

* * *

 

Predictably, they ended up at Jeremy’s house once they were set free. Jeremy was exhausted after rehearsal so he settled for slouching against Michael’s side, watching him play Portal.

“You suck at this game,” Jeremy said as Michael’s character died for the sixth time in a row.

“Jeremy you’ve never once played this game because apparently, you live under a rock, but by all means show me how it’s done you superior asshole.”

“Move over and watch the professional work his magic,” Jeremy said, snatching the remote.

It took all of four minutes before Jeremy was watching his character fall into a pit of acid.

“This makes no sense! How the hell am I supposed to get over there?!”

“Oh Jer, consider me told, I bow down to your wisdom. You’re clearly far superior at this game, I’m sorry I ever doubted you!”

The last word was delivered an octave above the rest as Jeremy jabbed his finger into Michael’s side and started tickling him ruthlessly. Michael flailed, trying to kick Jeremy away but Jeremy climbed over his thrashing limbs to sit atop Michael and continued his attack.

“Alright, alright I give! No bowing to your wisdom will take place! Ah!”

Jeremy gave him one last poke to the side before relenting. They stayed like that for a while, giggling and panting before Jeremy took stock of their position, he was sat atop Michael, straddling his waist and leaning over him. Jesus. He quickly rolled off him to lie on the beanbag next to him, trying to ignore some, ah, choice images his brain was producing for him. He was just over tired from rehearsal and sexually frustrated and that was a very compromising position, you couldn’t blame his thoughts from wandering!

“What are we gonna do about Chloe?” Jeremy asked when they’d both calmed down.

“Hm?”

“If she tells everyone we’re not really dating we’re dead. Like completely, utterly dead,”

“I guess we just have to be more convincing then, hey gimme your phone,”

“What, why?” Jeremy said, wiggling his phone out of his pocket. Michael unlocked it with his thumb print and opened the camera.

“Be cute,” He said. Jeremy shot him a suspicious look before thumping his head down on Michael’s shoulder, tilting his face towards the camera, closing his eyes and smiling. Michael leaned his head into Jeremy’s and clicked the button.

“You’re fucking adorable, jesus,” Michael said, tapping away on the phone then handing it back to him. Jeremy glanced at the screen to see Michael had set the picture as his wallpaper. They looked adorable, and very much together. He blushed slightly and tucked the phone away again.

“What about your phone?”

“It’s already that picture of us that time we went to the beach back in June,”

“Michael…that’s really gay,”

“Jeremy I’m gonna kick your ass, whose fault is it we’re ‘dating’ again?”

“Yeah okay point taken,” He laughed, a pang in his stomach that he couldn’t quite place. He chalked it up to anxiety over the whole situation.

“Changing my phone background is hardly gonna convince the school we’re dating though,” He pointed out.

“I was getting there! We should probably, like, kiss in public more? If you’re comfortable with that. I mean I assume you are because of rehearsal earlier, and it’s not much different from when you kiss Christine in the play anyway!”

There was that weird pang again. It was happening more and more around Michael recently. Maybe this whole fake dating situation was getting to him more than he thought.

“Yeah, uh, good idea. We’ve only actually kissed at the party and earlier today right? So that’ll…make it more realistic.”

“Exactly! Hey do you want me to walk you through an earlier level?” He nodded to the tv, “There’s a multiplayer mode in the second game we could try if you stop sucking so hard.”

“You’re going down, Mell.”

“It’s a team game oh my god how have you missed this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The picture they took is absolutely based off the livestream with the new actors, they're so adorable and im so incredibly jealous of everyone who gets to go see the show, please tell me every single detail (do they keep the handshake though thats what i wanna know)
> 
> jeremy's never played portal because its just about the only game I /have/ played 
> 
> this chapter took?? so long??? it just wouldn't work at all but I'm kinda pleased with it now
> 
> kinda inspired by Distance by Christina Perri yo
> 
> is there anything in particular you guys want to see? I have Plans™ but I'd love to know what you think <3


	5. Sensory overload

Michael’s headphones were broken. There was no sound at all in the left ear and only a horrible crackling strangled version of his music creeping through the right ear. As if that weren’t bad enough, they were doing practical experiments in chemistry. Everyone was put into groups of four and told to just get on with it, while the teacher “supervised” at the front and read magazines.

Michael hated practical lessons, the class would get rowdy and loud but he couldn’t put his headphones on because it was still technically a lesson. He’d always fitted in more than Jeremy, or rather, he didn’t give as much of a shit and people tended to just ignore him rather than actively bullying him. But in practical lessons he’d always be picked last for groups and sit at the very edge of the table trying to quietly get on with the work while the rest of his group messed around. The oppressive noise weighed him down, making it impossible to focus, while not allowing him to forget he was sat silently by himself while everyone else had fun around him.

By the end of the lesson he was twitchy and irritable, every tiny noise piercing his head and echoing around his brain. He desperately wanted to listen to music to soothe the pounding in his skull but the crackly track through one ear only worsened the problem.

When Jeremy caught up with Michael in the hallway at the start of lunch he had his hood pulled up, head ducked low and shoulders hunched. He was shifting uncomfortably, fingers twisting over and over. The broken headphones were pulled over his ears silently in an attempt to muffle as much racket as he could, and to try and ward off anyone who may attempt conversation with him. Not that they were likely to.

Jeremy took stock of Michael’s posture, his fidgeting fingers.

“You alright?” He asked softly, Michael shrugged non committaly, not looking up, “Sensory overload?” He guessed, sliding the hairband he always kept on his wrist for when Michael needed to fidget off and offering it to him.

“Headphones broke,” Michael said in lieu of answer, still not meeting Jeremy’s eyes but taking the hairband, tangling and untangling it on his fingers.

“Shit uh, one sec,” Jeremy said, rooting around in his bag before pulling out a tangled pair of black earbuds, “Here, they’re not as good obviously but,” he shrugged.

Michael’s head was still ducked as he accepted the headphones but Jeremy could see his expression soften.

“Thanks,”

“Slushies?”

“Please.”

Jeremy reached out and squeezed Michael’s hand briefly before letting it go.

They walked to Seven Eleven in comfortable silence. Jeremy kept more space than usual between their shoulders to give Michael room to breathe, which Michael was eternally grateful for. By the time they reached the store his posture was more relaxed and his movements less jerky, though he kept the hood up. Jeremy ordered the slushies for them while Michael skulked in an aisle, not really wanting to attempt talking to anyone yet. Jeremy didn’t even have to ask, just did it because he knew Michael didn’t want to, despite hating talking to cashiers himself.

They sat in the parking lot drinking their slushies, blue raspberry for Jeremy, cherry for Michael. Jeremy gushed over the play some more in between slurps and Michael was content to sit and watch him, one earbud out to listen properly. Somewhere along the lines Michael’s hood made it down and the tension finally bled from his shoulders. If Jeremy was good at nothing else, at least he could relish in being able to ease a smile back onto his friend’s face when he needed it most.

By the time they got back to school there was still about twenty minutes left of lunch.

“We could go hide in the theatre if you like?” Jeremy said.

“Nah it’s all good let’s go find the others,” Michael said, slipping his hand into Jeremy’s. He was still fiddling with the hairband in the other hand but he seemed to have recovered from earlier which Jeremy was thankful for.

“There’s the lovebirds!” Rich hollered as they approached their now usual lunch table. After twelve years of it being Jeremy and Michael against the rest of the world (or the rest of the school really, but sometimes it had felt like the whole world) it had taken them a while to get used to having a group of friends to sit with at lunch, but it felt natural now, nice, even.

“I hope you used protection,”

“Shut it, shortass,” Michael quipped, much to Jake’s amusement.

“We were just at Sev’ Elev’,” Jeremy tried to explain but was just met with knowing nods and “uh huh”’s. He rolled his eyes, knowing it was a lost cause.

“So, how’re you feeling about opening night tonight? Ready to be a star?” Brooke asked, glancing up at Jeremy from stabbing at her pasta salad with a look of mild distaste playing around her delicate features.

“Well, it can’t go any worse than last year I guess,”

“I dunno, the first act was pretty good, such a shame we never got to see the second act,” Michael deadpanned, “though I did always wonder what the audience thought was going on what with the stage empty and shrieking from the wings,”

“I’m surprised Mr Reyes hasn’t had a meltdown yet to be honest,” Christine agreed, “I’m sure it’ll go fine this year though, me and Jeremy make a good team,” She bumped their shoulders together affectionately and Jeremy grinned bashfully.

“You guys are spectacular, you’ll do great,” Chloe chimed in.

The bell rang and the gang started packing away their things.

“Shit I’ve got English and I left my homework in my locker the other side of the school, gotta run,” Michael said, “meet you outside the theatre at the end of school,”

“Sure, see you later,” Jeremy said, untwining his fingers from Michael’s finally to let him go, but Michael pulled him closer, using his newly freed fingers to tilt his chin up to kiss him softly, stealing the air from Jeremy’s lungs.

“See you later,” He echoed, before turning to dash off, leaving Jeremy gaping slightly and blushing profusely as Rich wolf whistled and the girls aww’ed.

Right, the kissing thing, Jeremy remembered. He tried to look less like he’d been hit in the face with a frying pan and more like his boyfriend had just casually pecked him on the lips, which he definitely did all the time. Christine’s gaze flicked between Michael’s retreating form in the distance and Jeremy, but before he could think about it too hard Rich and Jake distracted him by starting up a wrestling match over something or other and knocked into him, breaking him out of his thoughts.

 

* * *

  

He was more prepared for it at the end of the day. Michael was stood waiting for Jeremy at his locker to walk to the theatre together, chatting amicably with Jenna, Rich and Jake. Jeremy was thrilled Michael had been able to slot into their weird little friendship group so well, he was worried at first that he was only doing it for Jeremy, which at the beginning he supposed he was, but as time wore on he forged his own friendships within the group. It was nice to have backup as they faced the terrors of high school.

Jeremy took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do. As casually as he could muster he walked up to the small group, reaching for Michael’s hand when he got close enough, tangling their fingers together. Somehow it calmed his ragged nerves as he leant in, gaze fixed on Michael’s mouth.

To say the kiss was underwhelming wouldn’t have fit, but it definitely wasn’t as earth shattering as Jeremy had built it up to be. It was a peck, a quick soft brush of lips hello. It felt so natural that Jeremy was surprised they hadn’t been doing this for years already. Michael smiled at him when he pulled away, a small private smile with soft eyes just for a second before he turned back to the conversation, hand squeezing Jeremy’s.

 

* * *

 

“You nervous?”

“I’m past the point of nervousness, I think I’m actually actively dying,” Jeremy said, tone completely serious. Michael sniggered.

“If you die on that stage I’ll kill you myself,” Christine promised, “see you for warmup, and try not to get too worked up okay? You’re gonna be great.” With that she darted into the girls changing rooms.

Backstage was absolute chaos. Mr. Reyes looked like he was on the verge of having a seizure and he rounded on Liam like he was going to skewer him when he knocked a piece of set over. Michael of course found it utterly hilarious but Jeremy almost felt sorry for him. That was, until Liam caught his eye and winked at him, jerking his chin cockily and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Michael’s grip on his hand tightened almost painfully.

The nerves really started kicking in while Michael was mic-ing Jeremy up, the reality of the situation finally hitting him.

“Nope I’m definitely going to die,” He said, flapping his hands anxiously, like he could shake the nervousness right out of them.

“Hey,” Michael said softly, grabbing his hands and holding them still, “you’re gonna do fine, you know your lines, you nail your solo every time and you’ve got the choreography down. Soon as your feet hit that stage you’ll forget the audience is even there okay? You’re the best out of the whole cast, well maybe except Christine but that’s mostly because she’d murder me if I said otherwise,” Jeremy laughed, feeling himself start to calm down slightly.

“What if I mess up in front of everyone though?”

“Who cares? Remember, the audience doesn’t know what it’s meant to look like, so as long as you can recover from it fine they’ll hardly even notice,” He said.

It was almost worrying the way Michael could get inside Jeremy’s head, pick out the things nagging at him and soothe them. If Jeremy didn’t know better he’d say he was a mind reader, or maybe an empath. But he was just Michael, who knew Jeremy inside and out and always knew exactly what he needed. They were probably like, soulmates or something. Friendship soulmates. That’s a thing, right?

Michael’s face still wore the softest expression, waiting for confirmation from Jeremy that he was okay. Jeremy cracked a small smile and murmured, “Thanks,” Michael nodded like he was satisfied with the response. His fingers curled around the nape of Jeremy’s neck and pulled him down gently. Jeremy’s breath caught in his throat as Michael leaned in but instead of going for his mouth, Michael pressed a kiss tenderly to his forehead. Jeremy’s heart swelled in his chest until it had tripled in size, squeezing against his ribs and aching to break free.

Michael didn’t let go of Jeremy’s neck when he pulled away just far enough to look in his eyes. “You’re amazing,” He murmured, breath ghosting on Jeremy’s lips, god he wanted nothing more than to kiss him. “You’ll do great, everyone’s going to love you, promise.”

 

* * *

 

The show went surprisingly well. No one missed their cues, Jeremy didn’t trip over Christine or forget any lines, and the freshman on spotlights had apparently been terrified by Christine into doing a good job, or possibly murdered by her and quietly replaced by someone more competent.

When Jeremy bounced offstage after the final bow, adrenaline pumping through his veins staving off the exhaustion starting to set into his bones, Michael was right there waiting for him, beaming proudly. Jeremy practically jumped into his arms and Michael hugged him tightly, lifting him right off his feet and spinning him round before setting him carefully on the ground but not letting go.

“You were amazing, Miah!” He grinned into Jeremy’s neck, and Jeremy’s chest swelled with happiness. When he finally pulled away Michael was still grinning with a smile that could light up the whole room, it was infectious and Jeremy was beaming right along with him. It was the most beautiful smile Jeremy had ever seen, he never wanted to stop looking. He wished he could freeze time so they could stay in this moment forever, encased in their own little bubble of joy.

And just like that, Jeremy knew he was in love with Michael.

It wasn’t so much a revelation as it was like wiping the fog off a mirror, or finally remembering a word that’s been on the tip of your tongue for days, just waiting to be found. It had always been there but now it had a new kind of clarity, the term had floated forwards in his mind, attaching itself to the feeling and refusing to be swept aside.

Jeremy’s felt giddy, he wanted nothing more than to pull Michael in and kiss him till he was breathless. It was almost dizzying.

But then, Christine was pulling Jeremy into a bear hug, mouth running at a million words per minute as she gushed over their performances, and Jeremy had to tear his attention away from Michael to shower her in praise.

The world kept moving exactly the same, nothing had changed, but to Jeremy it felt as if everything had been tipped slightly to the side and his feet weren’t quite grounded to the floor anymore. Like he could trip and fall off the edge at any moment. But Michael was grinning at him, eyes bright and proud and Jeremy couldn’t find it in himself to panic just yet, letting himself bask in the warm glow of it instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has sat in my wips folder for SO LONG I apologise for the wait, the order of events in this chapter was dicking me over and I've had a ton of deadlines and projects at uni and I've just not had the time to sit down and write and I lost all motivation, but with the music video for Pitiful Children being released today it gave me the motivation to sort this bloody chapter out. It's already way longer than all the others but was originally even longer but I split it into two chapters instead (so I didn't have to deal with a couple of scenes that refused to be written yet lol that's a problem for later me) so the next chapter should be up sooner than this one was! Also goddamn some of the dialogue in this one is clunky as hell soz but theres like maybe two lines i really like so that makes up for it or something idk


End file.
